Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest — Hotel in Budapest

When one’s expectations are to be better than their travel trailer or a really great chain hotel experience, the walk into your room at the Matild Palace was a visual overwhelming event: The room lights automatically come up and the curtains and sheers at the far end of the room open automatically as well - a true wow experience.||The bathroom in our room, which differed from our traveling companions - it had a double sink configuration, a toilet with a built in bidet with heated features, and a huge walk-in shower with both a rain head and handheld wand, and for added comfort, a huge soaking tub in the 5’x9’ shower room. The bathroom was stocked with regular and large Turkish style towels.||The bedroom area had double windows, which helped keep the very busy street noise out (except for the occasional euro siren of various frequencies that would shatter unprotected eardrums). The television, which had channels with Hungarian and many times English language options, was emitted from the large mirror. Light and drape controls were bedside as well as near the entry door. Climate control was a bit slow to react, but efficient - note that the ceiling on our second floor room was at least 15’ tall.||The closet amenities were two robes, slippers, a very nice in drawer safe, and laundry bags and shoe horn. ||The drink and refrigerator closet was quite elegantly presented. Bright lighting and glassware with mirrors. You could find the expresso machine and complimentary water there along with a refrigerated minibar type set up for pay as you graze snacking.||The hotel has bell service and is staffed quite well. The front desk staff were very polite and efficient. There are 3 elevators adjacent to the guest lounge (waiting area) that require your room key to operate. They can hold about 6 passengers without bags - if you somehow get by without the bell service, perhaps 3 with full sized suitcases.||There is a workout room and a spa at the -1 Level (basement). Since I have never set foot in a spa, others with have to provide that info. The work out room had free weights and workout machines of various types, with televisions on each end and mirrors for those that want to see themselves work out (or as seems to be the case in Budapest, produce a TikTok or Instagram program about oneself in the mirror of any location with a mirror. The room also has towels, wipes, bottled waters and at times apples. It is large to where you don’t feel it was an after thought. The spa and workout room are easily accessed by the plain doored elevators near the huge central staircase in the complex. This elevator is used to access the reservation only rooftop bar. To get to Level 6, you need to check in at the stand off the lobby where the host will verify you have a reservation and then use their card key to trigger the ability to travel up to the 6th level.||The rooftop bar is a very nice experience - however, be prepared for pricy drinks to enjoy the view. The bar, which is visually quite a site after dark, is guarded by two metal giraffes as you exit the elevator. The bar is well staffed and they seem to have ample staff working there to seat you in your designated spot to enjoy the view of the nearby bridge and lit structures (aim to reserve a time slot before sunset so you can enjoy that sight and then watch the lights come on around you. In nice weather, the windows are open and you can enjoy any breeze (for us, it was in the 80 degree zone and the breeze was delightful.||Our stay included breakfast and the restaurant off the lobby. It is not a family diner; just a multiple time Michelin award place. The service and food, especially the breakfast buffet, is outstanding. You have the choice of the 8 or so menu items, the huge breakfast buffet, or both. The waitstaff does the coffee service and will deliver the menu items you select. A key to this location - choice the glass enclosed area away from the buffet to be seated - when it is warm, the glass doors are open and you get the outdoor experience of being near street side while inside the restaurant.||So, if you are used to being catered to, the Matild may be just the usual. If you are like me, where you are used to hauling your own bags, sticking a card in the power slot, hoping your room doesn’t have a tub/shower combo and prays that there are enough towels sufficient to dry yourself off without resorting to a hair dryer - this place is indeed a palace. Luxury would be a great description and an...

Lobby: When we first entered the hotel, we were immediately greeted by a bellboy who helped with our luggage. Everything felt very new and modern (though we later found it to be a bit too modern). The lobby wasn’t very big and was shared with a restaurant and a rooftop bar at night. Check-in took a while because they had to scan our passports individually, and there was a language barrier with one of the front desk staff. Since our rooms weren’t ready yet, we stored our luggage and came back later when the rooms were available.

Elevator: Once our rooms were ready and we received our keys, we had to use them in the elevator to access our floors. This was probably the MOST frustrating part because the elevator buttons weren’t physical, and the key reader didn’t work well. I had to try a separate elevator bank, and later learned you have to hold the key there for five seconds while pressing the floor button.

Room and Amenities: Upon entering the room for the first time, the lights automatically turned on and the shades opened. Everything in the room felt luxurious, and we were greeted with a welcome plate of fruit. In our room, the toilet was separated from the shower, which I liked. I also appreciated the bidet with the automatic toilet seat, since I have a bad habit of not putting it down, which annoys my girlfriend. The rain shower and bathtub really stood out with their blue backsplash. The hotel offered Byredo products, which smelled amazing and brought back happy memories. The bed was very comfortable, but the pillows lacked support, and both my partner and I woke up with stiff necks.

The hotel also had a fully equipped gym that was very modern and up to date.

Service: Aside from the check-in experience at the front desk, we requested some toiletries from the hotel. (One thing I appreciated was that the phone in the room was really easy to use and understand, unlike another hotel we stayed at.) Housekeeping was quick to bring the items, but I wasn’t happy with the service. After ringing the bell once and hearing me say “coming,” the staff member used the master key to try to enter the room. Thankfully, I had engaged the chain lock, so she couldn’t get in. I found this very unprofessional and impatient.

Rooftop Bar: At check-in, the front desk told us the bar was open at night and recommended we check out the view. However, it turned out that you couldn’t just go up—you needed a reservation, which I hadn’t been told earlier. Fortunately, the concierge was able to speak with the security guard and hostess, and they allowed us to go upstairs.

Breakfast: Breakfast was included with our stay, and it was really good. They offered both a buffet and an à la carte menu, and I have to say, for a hotel breakfast, it was pretty solid.

Overall: The hotel was good, but the interactions with the staff could have...

I’m generally a fan of Luxury Collection hotels, and Matild Palace is a great addition to the brand. It was the perfect home base for me to explore Budapest for the first time, with a great location away from the throngs of tourists but still close enough to walk to all the major sights. However, the housekeeping team could use some more training – once this is fixed, this hotel would be absolutely perfect!||All the staff I met were wonderful, whether it’s the concierge (shout-out to Zsigmond, who coordinated transport and helped confirm tours for me!) or the front desk or the room service team. They were all so friendly and eager to help, and you could tell that they really want their guests to have the best stay possible.||The rooms are spaciously designed in comparison to most European hotel rooms, and the bathroom is beautiful. Luxury Collection has the best hotel beds IMO and the Frette linens are a plus, I loved my bed so much it was hard to get out and go sight-seeing because I just wanted to lie in bed all day!||And while in-room dining doesn’t really have any vegan options, there’s a lovely vegan restaurant right behind the hotel called Napfenyes where you can get delicious vegan meals and cakes to go. ||Now the ugly part: housekeeping isn’t really up to standard. Some of the linens were stained, and there were visible dust bunnies on the floor. Bedlinens were not changed for 4 nights, and on my last night, the bed was made so poorly it was like a reluctant teenager did it. The same housekeeping staff also left used toilet paper in the toilet bowl, and forgot to replenish the towels. Maybe they were rushing to get home since it was a Sunday?||The worst part though was that there was a toenail clipping leftover on the floor by the previous guest, which is one of the more disgusting things you can find in a hotel room.||I saw it when I first checked in, and waited 2 days but the housekeeping team still did not clear it even though it was in a prominently visible area right outside the bathroom door. On the 3rd day I finally called Guest Services to have the housekeeping staff come and clear it because I just couldn’t keep looking at it. When the housekeeping staff arrived, she was bewildered that she had to come just to clear this toenail.||As a guest, you can’t really explain how toenail clippings left on the floor is simply unacceptable at a 5-star hotel. This is something that has to be taught at a training level, that hotels of this tier need to uphold a more stringent standard of cleanliness and attention to detail.||I feel like I’ve used the word toenail far more than I’d ever like to when writing about a hotel.||Anyway, with some improvement in housekeeping standards, I would be more than happy to come back to the Matild Palace on my next trip to Budapest because everything else...